Avenging You

Chapter 23

Parker

When Ryan left instead of following right after him, I decided to take a shower. It’s been a while since I’ve had one and I think it will help soothe my worries away.

The kiss keeps swirling through my head.

So much passion was in it and honestly, I want more.

I focus on getting him out of my head and when I get done with my shower, I put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and I walk into the living room. As I walk in there, I see Tom coming down the ladder. I swear if Ryan has already spilled the beans, I will have his head.

Tom smiles at me and said, “So, all the cameras and sensors have now been placed, there have been no new sightings of the Aberrations yet, and you said the next step is that we need to have a second way out of here… how do you propose we do that?”

I shrug, “Have a day where everyone stays above ground and you and I can work something out using my abilities.”

He nods in agreement and asks, “Do you think it’s weird we haven’t had any new sightings yet? Hunter knows you’re back now.”

“Well… Hunter did get in my head the other day.”

Tom’s eyebrows raise, and he just stares at me waiting for me to elaborate.

I sigh, “He said if I came to him willingly, he would spare everyone else.”

Tom breathes out with his eyes closed and he says, “You want to do it, don’t you?”

“I do… I believe at some point I would get him alone and be able to strike. But I’m not going to. We need to do this together.”

His eyebrows raise, and he sits beside me, “I’m surprised with your reaction, Par. Really seems like you’ve grown up.”

I laugh, “It’s Ryan’s doing, really. He made me promise not to go and that it’s not wise for me to try and do this on my own.”

He nods, “Ryan always has been able to get through to you.”

I nod in agreement and Tom says, “You know, AJ is loving getting to be up there.”

I nod, “Yeah, I know. Having time outside is really good for him it just makes me nervous. What if they’re watching us?”

“Don’t you think they would’ve already attacked if that was the case?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Parker.” He says my name and doesn’t speak until I look at him. When my eyes meet his he says, “We will all do our best to keep AJ safe, you don’t need to worry about him.”

I breathe out and nod and he comes over and hugs me, “I’m so glad you came back home to us.”

I smile and hug him back, “Me too.”

Ryan

It’s past midnight and I’ve snuck outside and I’m just waiting on Parker. I can’t help the nerves coursing through my blood as I sit and wait for her.

She appears suddenly which surprised me, but I realize that she must’ve used her powers. She smiles at me as she settles down beside me and yawns loudly then says, “It took forever to get AJ down tonight. He had so much fun playing with everyone today and he wanted to tell me all about it.”

I smile, “That’s cute.”

She nods and I know I have to bring up one thing, but I’m kind of scared to hear the response. She looks at me and tilts her head to the side as if sensing my uneasiness and she asks, “What’s going on, Ry?”

I sigh, “Well, I need to know… what made you change your mind so fast?”

She seems surprised by my question and I watch as her expression slowly changes and I see the sadness in her eyes as she answers, “Honestly? I went back in time and saw Ashton.”

Not at all what I was expecting. I don’t even know how to respond to her, and she seems to sense that because she says, “I wasn’t planning to. I was in my room feeling conflicted, but unable to get you out of my head and the guilt out of my gut.”

She sighs and looks up at the sky and my god, she is just stunning. She says, “I just appeared there, and it was the same day as the fight.”

I wince at the thought I know that couldn’t have been easy for her.

She says, “We talked, and I told him about AJ and I asked him how he felt about me moving on even if I was moving on with you and he supported me. He encouraged me to move on and he encouraged it with you. He said that he thought you would take the best care of me out of anyone else and that it reassured him that I would be okay. When I came back here, I still felt scared, but I knew the first step was finding you to talk to you. I wasn’t expecting you to still be in the bunker and I just… went for it.”

I chuckle, “Went for it? Parker, you completely took me by surprise.”

She smiles softly and a red blush covers her cheeks and I look in her eyes and say, “It was the best surprise.”

I lean in and give her a soft kiss and I pull away and say, “I imagine that whole thing was very difficult for you?”

Her face scrunches up in concentration as she thinks of the next words to say and she says, “Yeah, a little. But honestly, I think it provided me with a lot of closure I really needed. It was very refreshing.”

I nod in understanding and notice her shiver, so I scoot closer to her and put my arm around her. She leans into me and we sit in silence just enjoying each other’s presence.